Should you get a pug? Or a bulldog?

Should you get a pug? Or a bulldog?

Let’s have a brief and simplistic history lesson of the purebred dog, shall we?

Dogs have been around for a long time. When they were bred in the past, they were bred for function. Dogs that were good at herding were bred to other good herders; dogs that were good at hunting were bred to other good hunting dogs. And then you had sheepdogs and hounds. Their appearance probably varied greatly, but they were prized because they could get the job done.

But around the turn of the century, eugenics started to become popular. Maintaining the “purity” of races was all the rage (and we remember how that turned out, in the form of Nazi Germany). Victorian England decided to turn its racial purity sights onto their beloved dogs, and they created the Kennel Club in 1873 and with it, the notion of a “pure”-bred dog. Dog shows and an invented breed standard allowed wealthy dog owners to breed their pets into status symbols.

Kennel clubs exist all around the world today, and the typical purebred dog is bred to meet a breed standard, determined by a kennel club. This breed standard is determined by the breed clubs, and it is based on a somewhat mythical (and changeable) notion of what the “perfect” example of its breed should look like. Dog shows are strictly beauty pageants. Dogs have to meet an arbitrary, human-defined standard of beauty to be declared fit to be bred. And therein lies the problem.

When we make appearance the primary criteria for choosing a dog, we do a great disservice to the health and welfare of dogs everywhere.

These are the two main problems with making beauty the only thing that counts when breeding dogs:

Genetic diseases skyrocket. Among humans, it’d be gross/totally taboo for a grandfather to procreate with his granddaughter. But in the purebred dog world, this is completely common and even encouraged, especially if that sire is a ribbon winner. Naturally, this makes inherited disease vastly more common. As a weird/gross factoid of how far we’ve taken this, Imperial College London found that the approximately 10,000 pugs in the United Kingdom are equivalent to only 50 genetic individuals.

Anatomy gets screwed up to meet a capricious breed standard. Again, the breed standard is completely invented. There is no good reason for dachshunds to have one-inch-long legs anymore. There is no good reason for German shepherds to have back hocks that almost touch the ground. There is no good reason for bulldogs to be unable to respirate normally because of their squashed snouts. The dogs are bred this way to meet a breed standard, which is completely made up. And we are destroying their bodies in the process.

Pug. Creative Commons license.

Didn’t your mother ever tell you looks don’t matter? It’s what’s on the inside that counts? And what’s on the inside of many purebreds, especially snub-nosed (brachycephalic), breeds is royally effed up, thanks to kennel clubs and breed standards.

I always get a lot of hate mail/negative comments when I express this opinion—that bulldogs and pugs are desperately unhealthy and over-bred—but I feel so strongly about this issue that it rolls off my back like water. I also have science on my side, so that helps.

Here’s a great summation of many of the physical problems with pedigree dogs, via following infographic from the RSPCA:

If you have a pug, French bulldog, English bulldog, or pekingese, or any extremely over-bred/deformed purebred, I know you love your dog. I know your dog loves you. They’re little fighters. They suffer and they don’t complain.

I know it’s not directly your fault that your dog can’t breathe or reproduce naturally. It’s the fault of generations of eugenics inflicted on canines to fit a wholly arbitrary breed standard.

French bulldogs. Creative Commons license.

But what is terrifying and depressing now is how registrations of brachycephalic dogs have soared over the past decade. Pugs and bulldogs are extremely trendy right now. They appear in tons of marketing and ad campaigns, and it’s “hip” to have a dog with a squashed face, especially in big cities. French bulldogs and pugs are small and relatively “lazy” (largely because they are incapable of too much exertion because of their anatomy), and so they appeal to many city dwellers.

I see so many pugs and bulldogs on the street, and I feel crushed a little every time I do. If you even know the slightest bit about canine anatomy, you can observe how much these dogs labor and struggle to even walk or trot short distances, especially on hot days. My hair stylist’s 5-year-old English bulldog dropped dead in the park one summer day because his heart simply gave out. Her vet said she’d seen it happen multiple times with bulldogs. I grow sad when I hear owners laughing about how their pugs or bulldogs “snore” or grunt so much. It isn’t really funny; your dog snores so loudly because she actually can’t get enough air. It’s heartbreaking. Dogs deserve better than this.

So, what are you to do, if you really like the look of pugs or French bulldogs? Here are a few ideas.

Alternatives to a pug/French bulldog/English bulldog

Puggle. Creative Commons license.

Puggle. Pug + beagle = dog who can breathe!

Pit bull or pit-type dogs. Still the squashed face that may appeal to you, but a much healthier build. And there are TONS of wonderful, happy pitties in shelters all around the country who are desperate to find happy homes.

Any mixed breed! Really. Breed is not a great determinant for personality. And modern purebreds, especially brachycephalic purebreds, tend to be genetic disasters.

A pit bull-type dog. Creative Commons license.

But it’s time we spoke up for purebred dogs, who can’t speak up for themselves. Start demanding better breed standards from local breed clubs. Urge the kennel club in your country to take stronger measures to ensure that dogs are healthy and free of genetic disease.

The most important thing is to resist the urge to buy a puppy that’s bred to extremes. If we stop demanding snub-nosed breeds, the supply will decrease. Just say no to pugs and bulldogs. After all they give us, dogs deserve better, healthier, longer lives. And we have the power to give it to them.

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5 thoughts on “Should you get a pug? Or a bulldog?”

Love this post 🙂 Out of all the people I know on fb who have gotten a dog (only the last year or two) EVERY SINGLE ONE has bought a pug, other than one English Bulldog 😦 Although I like a lot of brachy breeds (Boston Terriers, my heart melts!!) I won’t ever own one unless it’s a mix. It’s also worth throwing out that on a dog walk, years ago, we saw an English Bulldog that had collapsed and died as it was exercising on a hot day…it was absolutely heartbreaking.

Great post. I watched a video a few years ago that said exactly this. It showed pictures of pugs, German Shepherds, and many other “pure bred” dogs at the turn of the century and now. Now they look very different and deformed. It is common sense that something is very wrong with dogs that have their brains growing out of the bottom of their skulls and dying an excruciating death, or dogs who have to have c-sections to give birth. Come on people! THINK! That is NOT how Mother Nature works! The purebred world seems ridiculous and ultimately innocent dogs suffer because of human greed and ignorance of the consumers. I’ve had many mutts and cross breeds. My current pup is a Aussie-mix rescue who gets complements on his beauty all the time. He’s a gorgeous mutt! I hope that anyone who truly loves dogs will stop and think before they spend thousands of dollars for a designer dog.

This quote says it well: Purebred is just a nice way of saying inbred. Selective breeding is a nice way of saying eugenics.

Although I do love the way Pugs and English Bulldogs look, I made a conscious decision to not have either due to the health risks. I believe that in the Netherlands they have considered banning Pugs altogether. We love our rescue Puggle mix and think he’s awesome!

Abbey, I agree with the vast majority of your post but I wonder if you would consider removing the puggle recommendation?

As you know, mixes are a complete pot shot. I consider puggles one of the worst mixes – there is every chance that a puggle can be born with the energy and drive of a beagle and the breathing issues of a pug, resulting in a dog that can never engage it’s drives or that causes itself serious breathing issues trying to do so. Where I live, puggles are nearly entirely produced by puppy farmers, raised in terrible conditions without proper health tests, good early care or sufficient socialisation.

While taking a puggle from a reputable rescue might get someone a pug that can breathe, buying them just supports puppy famers/back yard breeders who do not care about the potential issues of the pups they are producing.